Monday August 15th
in Sacramento ____ At the recent hearing of the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, legislative
Democrats sidelined Senator Mike Morrell’s (R-Rancho Cucamonga) Senate Bill 1136, which would have required additional transparency in state
spending of the controversial Fire
Prevention Fee,
also known as the Fire Tax.

“Working to repeal and shine light on the fire tax is one of my top
priorities,” said Morrell. “SB 1136
simply asked for more program information to be readily available to the public
and ensure access to it in the years ahead. It is frustrating and perplexing
that, despite bipartisan and unanimous support throughout the year, the
Democrat-controlled Appropriations Committee refused to approve the measure.
Taxpayers have the right to know how every dollar of their money is being
spent. There should not be an expiration date on government transparency.”

The Fire Prevention Fee , was enacted
in 2011 as part of the state budget and is assessed on property owners in State
Responsibility Areas (SRA) for which the state assumes primary
responsibility for fire protection and prevention activities. Enacted without a
two-thirds vote of the legislature, it is likely an illegal tax, an issue that
is currently pending in the courts.

SB 1136 would have created
additional layers of transparency by requiring the annual department report
provided to the legislature to include a description of each program and
subprogram funded by the SRA fee, including an itemized accounting of these
expenditures.

The Bill also, would have
extended the sunset date of the reporting requirement to 2021, which will now
end in January 2017. The measure was held on the Assembly Appropriations suspense file without a final vote of
the committee.